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Thursday is the final day before the WNBA All-Star Break, and there are five games on top. Unfortunately for WNBA fans, Caitlin Clark's will not be suiting up for the Indiana Fever when they face the defending-champion New York Liberty at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. Clark, who has battled injuries all year long, is out once again with a groin injury she suffered late against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday. 

If you're interested in WNBA betting and WNBA player props at the best betting sites for Wednesday, July 16, then make sure to see today's WNBA best bets using odds from FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook.

Today's WNBA picks:

  • Fever first half +5.5 -112 (1 unit, DK)
  • Brionna Jones Over 6.5 rebounds -125 (0.5 units, DK)
  • Jones 10+ rebounds +390 (0.25 units, FD)
  • Allisha Gray Over 4.5 rebounds -136 (0.5 units, FD)
  • Gray 8+ rebounds +580 (0.25 units, FD)
  • Jordin Canada Over 3.5 rebounds -125 (0.5 units, FD)
  • Canada 8+ rebounds +1300 (0.25 units, FD)

Fever first half +5.5

The Fever are without Clark once again, which has unfortunately been all too common this season as the second-year superstar has struggled to stay healthy. She injured her groin late in Tuesday's contest against the Sun, and Wednesday is Day 2 of a road back-to-back for Indiana. Due to Clark's injury, the Liberty are -10 on the spread at DraftKings. While I think that line is a bit high, backing the Fever in the first half is an angle I feel stronger about.

The Liberty have trailed at halftime in nine of their past 11 games. One was with Jonquel Jones in the lineup, one was with Jones leaving in the second quarter after injuring her ankle and nine were without Jones). One of the two exceptions were a slim three-point halftime lead over the Seattle Storm at home, and the other came when the Liberty led by three on the road when facing the Golden State Valkyries. Additionally, New York trailed after the first quarter in those two aforementioned games. 

It's clear that the Liberty just aren't the same team when Jones is out of the lineup, and that's especially been the case in first halves. When the Liberty started out 9-0 to open the season, they ranked first in net rating in the first and second quarters. 

The Fever played a closer than expected game against the Sun on Tuesday, and they had to play their starters late as a result. With Clark out, the Fever's other key players likely will have to play even more minutes. Because of those two factors, there's a chance they run out of gas in the second half given this is the second game of their back-to-back.

Indiana is also a team that held the Las Vegas Aces to just 24 points in the first half as well as the Lynx to 27 points in the first half earlier this month. Both of those games were without Clark in the lineup, too. I think this first half will be played at a slower pace with Clark likely sidelined and that points will be harder to come by, making that +5.5 rather valuable. 

Dream rebounding props (Brionna Jones, Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada)

There are a lot of injuries on this slate, including in this Dream-Sky matchup. Angel Reese is missing her first game of the season with a leg injury and the Chicago Sky will also be without Ariel Atkins, while Rhyne Howard is out for the Dream. 

Reese has been incredible of late, as she's averaged 19.1 points on 52.7% shooting and 14.4 rebounds over her past eight games. With her out, there are now a lot of rebounds available to be grabbed, along with the fact that she's been Chicago's most efficient weapon on offense. Atkins (13.9 PPG) is second in points for the Sky and the team's top perimeter scorer. 

It makes sense that sportsbooks have adjusted Kamilla Cardoso's rebounding prop to 9.5 (Over -108, Under -122 at FD) after it was 7.5 last game and 6.5 in the four contests before that one. But I'm not sure how many additional minutes she'll play with Reese out and Atlanta certainly has the size to counter her. So instead, I think the value lies with Dream rebounding props.

Howard is tied for fourth on the Dream with 5.0 rebounds per game and is fourth with 3.9 defensive rebounds per game. We saw what life was like without Howard last game for the Dream against the Liberty, as Brittney Griner (10 rebounds), Allisha Gray (8 rebounds), Jordin Canada (8 rebounds), Brionna Jones (7 rebounds) and Naz Hillman (7 rebounds) all had nice efforts on the glass. Just six Dream players logged more than 7 minutes (it was seven the game before with Howard), as Dream coach Karl Smesko has really tightened the rotation lately.

Now, the Liberty are the third-worst rebounding team in the WNBA (they rebound 47.9% of missed shots) and the Sky are the best in the WNBA (52.7% rebounding percentage), but obviously Reese plays a big part in that. The Dream are also a strong rebounding team (fifth in rebounding percentage at 52.1%) and I think there will be a lot of defensive rebounding opportunities for them with Reese and Atkins not taking a bulk of the shots. 

The Dream have also played the Sky twice this season, and Jones racked up 22 total rebounds (11 in each game) while Gray has pulled down 12 (7 and 5) in those contests—and that was going against Reese on the glass. Cardoso is not nearly as vicious as a rebounder even though she is taller, so I can certainly see some Dream players once again putting forth strong rebounding efforts.

Overall record: 36-37, +3.01 units